1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to storage systems and, more particularly, to a cart designed to house and store portable computing devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Portable computing devices, such as laptop and tablet computers, are commonly used in educational facilities to enrich the curriculum provided to students. Likewise, these types of devices are increasingly being used in other contexts, such as in museums, to enable people to interact with the exhibits present in the museum.
Portable computing devices typically include a battery that may be charged to enable the portable computing devices to be used while not connected to an electrical outlet. Since most batteries are charged using relatively low voltage DC power (e.g. 19.5 volt or 24 volt), a transformer is commonly used to convert 120/240 volt 60/50 Hz AC electrical power available in a standard electrical outlet to the lower voltage DC power required by the device. Transformers of this type used to convert line power for use by laptop computers have commonly become known as “bricks”. Generally, bricks are computer specific, in that each type/model of computer may have its own transformer depending on the particular power characteristics of that specific computer.
Computer carts have been developed which may be used to store portable computing devices in a secure manner. Often, the portable computing devices will be electrically connected within the cart to enable the portable computing devices to be charged and synchronized while stored in the cart. Because the computer bricks are required to interconnect the computers to an electrical power source, the cart must also be designed to accommodate the computer bricks. Where the cart is designed to hold multiple portable computing devices such as 24-36 computers, installation of the computer bricks and associated power cords, as well as storage of the bricks and power cords within the computer cart, may present challenges. Likewise, when changing between computer types or upgrading computers, it may be necessary to remove all the wiring and associated bricks from the cart and reinstall the new bricks and associated power cords, which can take a considerable amount of time. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a new type of computer cart with improved transformer and power cord storage, installation, and maintenance capabilities.